ANTHONY Iago died more than two months after a "safety" ladder collapsed under him while he was lopping trees at his Wilpshire home.

But his widow, who was holding the ladder at the time, told an inquest she had subsequently found the instructions for the ladders and her husband had been using them incorrectly.

"It is very uncharacteristic but he was using them incorrectly," said Mrs Hazel Iago. "It was his fault."

Mrs Iago said her husband had been pruning the trees at their home in Hollowhead Lane on July 6 and had said he could do with a bit of help. When she went outside he told her that the ladders had already spun round once while he was on them and asked her to stand on the bottom rung.

Mrs Iago said her husband was at least 15-feet up when she felt the ladder move.

"I said it is moving, its not safe and then it collapsed," said Mrs Iago. "It happened very quickly. The ladder went to the right but my husband came straight down." Mr Iago fell into an area where there were some cemented stones and when Mrs Iago looked he was bleeding from his head.

After being taken by ambulance to Blackburn Royal Infirmary, Mr Iago was transferred to Royal Preston Hospital. He appeared to be making good progress before suffering a collapsed lung. He remained at Preston for three more weeks when he was transferred back to Blackburn Royal Infirmary. His condition fluctuated before he was transferred to the rehabilitation unit at Queens Park Hospital.

Mrs Iago said he was up and about and talking about coming home when he developed another infection and he eventually died on September 16.

The cause of death was given as multi organ failure caused by septicaemia due to bronchial pneumonia brought on by immobility due to a head injury.

Coroner Michael Singleton recorded a verdict of accidental death.

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